Adoption of Quick Response (QR) in Print Media: The Role of Competition

• Activity Number: 81
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Sunday, August 3, 2014 : 4:00 PM to 5:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistics in Marketing
• Author(s): Fusun Gonul*+
• Companies: SRU
• Keywords: Carryover ; Competition ; Fixed Effects ; Quick Response ; Unobserved Heterogeneity

Abstract

In this paper we explore the synergy between print advertising and online advertising facilitated by QR codes (quick response code that can be scanned by smartphones for information). With the QR, not only the customer scans the ad in a print ad or billboard but also the company scans the customer, thus collecting information on the customer such as location and previous purchase behavior. Hence, QR codes are not just another quaint addition to a traditional ad but a way of generating data similar to online advertising. Our data are from ads published in Fortune magazine, a monthly business periodical, by 519 companies, during 2010-2012. We specifically focus on the role of competitive ads and carryover (the company's own past ads) in the decision whether or not to have QR in the ad. We estimate a logit model with fixed effects to account for unobserved heterogeneity across firms. We recommend companies adopt QR code as part of their multimedia strategy and use it to combat the nonpersonal nature of digital media, e.g., by directing the customer to an event such as a contest or a concert rather than to a stagnant website.